Runs like a gay: February 2010

Sunday, 28 February 2010

Mercedes Ruehl

Happy Birthday to

Mercedes Ruehl

62 today

I was recently reminded of Terry Gilliam's Fisher King by an insightful piece from Encore's World of Film & TV so I revisited the film and I'm glad to say it has not lost any of it's fun or delight. Part of that is down to the splendid turn by Aercedes, an actress who is completely unafraid to show her all. I'm afraid she's been since lost to TV movies and guest appearances. Someone please cast her in a proper film.

Saturday, 27 February 2010

Out This week (26/02/10)

You will struggle to find a good film out this week - odd after the glut of high profile releases just seven days ago. Personally I sahll be seeing Amy Adams going all blarney, but I certainly don't think I can recommend that. So I suppose the film of the week will have to be the latest embarassement in Robert De Niro's CV: Everybody's Fine.

The Crazies

Remake of George Romero horror classic sees Timothy Olyphant and his heavily pregnant wife avoiding a horde of psychotic townsfolk and a military plot to kill everyone in the town to contain the virulent cause. Hokum, which has probably lost all trace of it's paranoia roots but the trailer looks fun.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Everybody's Fine

Robert De Niro tries hard to copy Jack Nicholson's recent successes by playing a recent widower reconnecting with his children who never felt able to communicate with the old man. This ain't About Schmidt by a long stretch but with Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale and Drew Barrymore as his kids there are some pretty things to look at.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Extraordinary Measures

Is Extraordinary measures, with it's medical research storyline give a reasoned arguement against a profit based medical system where orphan diseases get no funding? Or does it say that if you have the money you can cure your terminal children? Who cares when the trailer was a dull as this one?

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Freestyle

British girl has to choose between completing her studies or following her dreams to become a professional baseketball player. At the risk of being incredibly insensitive I wasn't aware women played basketball.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

From Paris With love

Pierre Morel's Taken was a surprise hit in 2008 thanks to Liam Neeson's committed performance, some chewy dialogue and quality action choreography. The follow-up has camply bearded John Travolta and bored looking Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Karthik calling Karthik

It's an evil doppleganger movie from Bollywood. Starring Farhan Akhtar. (Sorry I don't know anything more about this.)

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Leap Year

Absolutely rubbish looking rom-com with Amy Adams falling for Matthew Goode during an unnecessary dash across Hollywood's version of Ireland. Both Adams and Goode are riding high on other projects at the moment, and it looks like the sales weren't so bad this will destroy their careers so naturally this is the film I intend to watch this week.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Micmacs

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is one of the few international directors with a clear auterial style, and with his latest, which looks at illegal gun trading and a community based around recycling rubbish (no, not the Wombles) has many of his usual visual tics - such as a brown palette and Dominic Pinon. Well worth braving the subtitles.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

She, A Chinese

Depressing looking view of a Chinese woman who exchanges an unhappy life in China for an even more unhappy woman as a mail order Bride in Britain. See this if you think your life has too much fun in it.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Teen Patti

Hindi movie directed by Leena Yadav about a mathematical formula concerning probability and randomness that profoundly impacts the life of the mathematician who discovers it. In a casting coup Ben Kingsley plays another statistician who aims to helps publicise the formula.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa

Boring looking love story from Sri Lanka, noted lack of conflict in the trailer. I really can't imagine why anyone would want to see it.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Joanne Woodward

Happy Birthday to

Joanne Woodward

80 today

Joanne and her late husband Paul Newman are regarded as the pinnacle of Hollywood relationships. Faithfully married for over 50 years their coupling is a wonderful example about how two people can make it work and have seperate and strong careers. Over latter years Joanne has slowly moved away from the limelight, not appearing on the screen since 2005.

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

A Single Man

2009. Dir: Tom Ford. Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicolas Hoult and Jon Kortajarena. ●●●●○

I am not a student of film. Like the proverbial boor I know nothing about art, but I know what I like. Indeed it is the way a movie stirs me or causes me to think about the situations of the characters that I most like about films, and that guarantees a positive review. It is with that in mind when I say A Single Man left me cold. I appreciate it's a well made movie, stylistically and thematically stimulating but for me it comes across as an exercise in great film techniques and not as a great film.

The film follows Professor George Falconer (Colin Firth, giving an excellent low key performance) during a seemingly ordinary day. He has breakfast, goes to work, visits his bank and has dinner with his closest friend Charley (Julianne Moore). As the day progresses we become increasingly aware that Falconer intends this day to be his last, he plans to end his life because it is now empty, because his one love (Matthew Goode in flashbacks) has died and he cannot see a way forward without him; "Getting up hurts" without Jim in his life.

Luckily for director Tom Ford Firth rises to the challenge in the role. The wistful way he touches his lips in the opening scene, remembering Jim kiss is painfully real. Another stand-out is the moment when he hears of Jim's death in flashback and slowly sinks into himself. First is able to convey not only the horror of losing a loved one but also the betrayal he feels for it happening elsewhere, where he cannot attend the funeral and start to build a new life. Finally the indignation that his best friend still doesn't understand the importance of his relationship and the cry against "substitute" is a feeling I believe many of us know only too well.

Not only does the camera track Falconer, but it often reflects his state of mind, the cinematography appearing muted and fuzzy during most of the time, with occasional bursts of colour and definition co-inciding with occasions when his senses are heightened. Whilst this could be heightened by a smell or a gesture or, as often as not, by sexual arousal. The camera also focused on little details, eyes, lips in extreme close-up daring us to look for the telling details that show the characters true moods.

Not that we ever really get the chance. As this is essentially Falconer's movie all the other characters are defined purely in terms of their relationship to him, and whilst we have a clear idea of Falconer and his motives the remainder of the cast are more iffy. This does work well - if we take Nicolas Hoult's enigmatic student as en example during the number of scenes he shares with Falconer we understand clearly that the professor is curious about the boy and is stifling feelings towards him by Hoult's actions could equally be defined as callously observant or sexually precocious.

The design is generally light on detail as befits a work about grief, and naturally the costumes are all utterly gorgeous.

On the negative side I suppose I was not taken in by the central conceit. It seemed to me that Falconer was crying out in every conversation that he had that this was his last day on earth and that he wanted someone to stop that. This therefore removed the dramatic tension for me, and whilst the last minute was surprising, the five minutes beforehand were pretty well telegraphed in the movie.

There was also something self-consciously arty about the whole enterprise, the same camera tricks I spoke of earlier with the changing focuses and extreme close-ups seemed to be a case of shoving in too much style. But as I said at the beginning, I'm no artist.

Overall a very well made film, if one that I would struggle to recommend to see.

Edward James Olmos

Happy Birthday to

Edward James Olmos

63 today

Olmos, who's an accomplished rock musician as well as actor, has been a major player in 2 highly regarded television programmmes. "Miami Vice" and "Battlestar Galatica" may have been set literally worlds apart but his commanding and austere presence has been a rock in both for the other characters to cling to. And unlike many performers Olmos regularly visits schools in deprived areas to show kids there is a way out of the slums and cycle of violence they are in. Look out for his next appearance in The Green Hornet.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Tuesday Trailers - Hachiko: A Dog's Story

As you know by now - I'm on tour which means that I won't get a chance to do box office news this weekend coming. But if I did one of the new releases is for Hachiko. It's a simple story about the bond between dog and master. No doubt with Lasse Hallstrom on board as director there will be an opportunity to reach for the hankies. I just don't care. Here's the trailer:

Hachiko: A Dog's Story is released on 12 March 2010.

Monday, 22 February 2010

Julie Walters

Happy Birthday to

Julie Walters

60 today

British comic actress Julie is most certainly the best thing ever to come out of Smethwick (I've worked there - I know). Since then she's sparkled on TV working with Victoria Wood and notched up 2 Academy Award nominations. Her meal ticket of late has been with Harry Potter, but with that coming to an end soon I guess she'll be thinking about the next stage of her career.

Saturday, 20 February 2010

Brenda Blethyn

Happy Birthday to

Brenda Blethyn

64 today

Completely unafraid, Brenda excels in roles that require a little extra pizzazz. She's also a personal hero of mine, leaving a career in her late 20's and then moving into acting. She's also run the London Marathon which is quite an achievement.

Friday, 19 February 2010

Out This Week (19/02/10)

I'm a little ashamed about this week's releases. Not that the releases themselves have shamed me, but that the excitometer numbers are a little high. You see although part of it is based on what I think about the trailers and the concept equally a large part is defined by reviews, cast, off-screen talent and awards buzz. So there are three films getting high scores this week, and I have to admit it's mainly due to the oscar noms. So ignoring them I'd probably recommend Samantha Morton's foster drama The Unloved (although it was screened on Channel 4 last year so I'm not sure why it's getting a cinema release. Regardless, mathematically the film of the week is The Lovely Bones.

Closed Book

Tom Conti is a blind art historian, Daryl Hannah his mysterious assistant helping him with one last book. There are secrets galore in this murky thriller, but aside from the money shot of Conti with just empty eye sockets there's little to recommend it.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Crazy Heart

This is the film that will bring Jeff Bridges his fully deserved Oscar. Naturally this film would have normally faded away over time, but for this reason only it will stay in the history books. I'm sure Jeff's performance as a washed-up country singer hitting the bottom of his bottle and rock bottom of his life is worthy, however...

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○

Headless Woman

The third feature from acclaimed Argentinian director Lucretia Martel follows a middle class mother of three who begins to lose her sanity after running over a neighbours dog.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

The Last Station

Based on the final days of Leo Tolstoy's life, apparently the vast majority of the screenplay is based on the diaries that most of the characters are keeping. In that respect it's as close to the truth about what happened as can be made about events that took place 100 years ago.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○

The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson's adapatation of the Alice Sebold novel. The novel has a wistful attitude to death which may have been lost in translation but Jackson's always a fascintaing director, even when he mis-fires - as this might be - it's worth taking a look at.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●●○

Solomon Kane

Puritan adventure (now's there's a combination you don't hear everyday) as 16th century soldier James Purefoy battles ancient demons and shadowy sects to save Rachel Hurd-Wood (and his soul, apparently). Expect much blood-letting and faux-important speeches. Max von Sydow and Pete Postlethwaite lead the supporting cast.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

The Unloved

First shown on TV last year, Samantha Morton's disection of the foster care system, with all it's failures on display, gets a belateded cinematic release. Morton writes from the heart, having spent much of her childhood in care and the deeply unsettling child's view of situations they cannot understand or control is hugely affecting.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Jon Whiteley

Happy Birthday to

Jon Whiteley

65 today

Former child star, and recipient of a Juvenile Oscar for his performance in The Little Kidnappers back in 1953, Whiteley grew out of acting in his early teens and has since gone on to become a renowned Art Historian with the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Which goes to prove that you can have a normal future if you start acting at an early age.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

George Kennedy

Happy Birthday to

George Kennedy

85 today

This way George. Like most actors of his generation George is a World War 2 veteran, under the command of General Patton. Indeed his first hollywood jobs were related to that experience including a stint as a military advisor on "Sgt. Bilko". His big screen debut was shouting "I'm Spartacus" which must be considered an amazing way to start in film. Although he will almost certainly be best remembered for Joe Patroni, the straight talking engineer in the Airport series.

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

Valentine's Day

2010. Dir: Garry Marshall. Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx. ●○○○○

I'm thinking perhaps the rating is a little harsh. Valentine's Day, for all it's many faults, did not make me angry. I did not consider asking for my money back, nor was I shouting at the screen at the iniquity of it. Unlike one film I went to see this year I was not seething afterwards. However it is a really bad movie - utterly inedt - to call it amateur would be an insult to amateur productions.

Let me explain: Valentine's Day follows an inderterminable group of LA'ers as they make their way through the romantic entanglements during the feast of St. Valentine. Naturally, as is always the case with large cast dramas, they all interlink on at least a superficial level (sometimes the level of co-incidence is unbearable) and they all have different feelings or experiences that relate to love. When taken as a whole we, as an audience, are meant to better understand the meaning and consequences of that four letter word. This movie ultimately wants to be an American Love, Actually and at this it fails spectacularly.

If you read on, please not this review has many many spoilers...

Why? Well I re-watched Richard Curtis' film to try and understand why one is charning, if lightweight, and the other is charmless. Here are the reasons I can find:

1. Passage of time. Whereas Love Actually (herein referred to as LA) takes place over a month Valentine's Day (VD, chuckle chuckle) crams the entire process within approximately 18 hours. Characters therefore have no time to consider things and grow, relationships don't develop they just happen. For instance Ashton Kutcher proposes to girlfriend Jessica Alba before breakfast, but they've split by the end of the working day. On hearing his wife has had an affair Hector Elizondo is so cut up it takes all of three hours to forgive her.

2. Thematic consistency. At the beginning of LA it sets up the airport arrival gate as a place to see love, then ends by showing that. In VD there doesn't really seem to be any flow. Events just happen at random. The only difference between the beginning and the end is that the scenes are shorter and the cuts quicker.

3. Demographics. I'm not so concerning about the ethnicity of the protagonists, as LA was virtually all white too (and this could have been easily fixed) but I did notice how beautiful everyone was. Essentially if you're not thin, silky haired and young you're doomed to spend VD alone. Where were the people like us? With a few extra inches on the waist and a few more grey hairs that we once had? I know Hollywood is always obsessed with beautiful people but when they're being paraded one after another it gets too much.

4. Unhappy endings. There shouldn't be many, but in a multi-character drama some stories will end badly. In LA Laura Linney and Andrew Lincoln do not get to experience a fulfilling and complete love. VD doesn't dare to give any major characters anything other than the type of happiness they want. Nobody really ends up alone (except for Patrick Dempsey's cheating doctor but he does deserve it for being a love cheat). This is dramtically uninteresting.

5. Set your jokes up. All of the jokes in VD are one line zingers (and nearly all of them appear in the trailer). Lines like "Young Love, full of promise full of hope ignorant of reality" are OK but it's nothing compared to the set up and then pay-off of Kris Marshall stateside holiday or even the goofball pidgeon Portuguese that Colin Firth launches into in LA. By slowly developing towards a punchline then the jokes will be funnier and we will remember them better - trust me.

6. Make it for adults. Why make a film about love and sex and make it PG-13? Why why why. It limits the jokes and the situations. If a scenario is meant to appeal to adults make a film for adults to enjoy and not one for kids.

7. Believeability. If you're going to have a situation that doesn't seem very likely make it completely off the wall (such as a Prime Minister caught kissing at a school nativity or a faded rock star having a Christmas number 1). Don't have a florist which appears to employ over 15 people (I've been to lots of florists and I've never seen one with mre than 3 staff) - and on that why were there Nuns buying flowers on VD? I would also like to object about the Football stars coming out, but more on that later*.

I could go on.

There were some minor elements I enjoyed. Jessica Biel is a surprisingly nice comic actress and I hope she gets a decent film to show that off in (was Nailed ever completed?) and Hector Elizondo stood out for me (his reaction to Emma Roberts annoucement is priceless).

The flowers were also generally gorgeous and well chosen to go with the giver and the given, so thanks to whoever sourced those.

In spite of not hating the film with so much wrong with it all I can do is give Valentine's Day, a well deserved 1 out of 5 rating.

*Please see next post.

Valentine's Day Postscript - Coming Out

In my next post I review Valentine's Day, a film which I did not, by any stretch of the imagination, enjoy. But I wanted to make a special point about the section fo the film that disappointed me most.

In the film Eric Dane's star quarterback holds a press conference to publicly announce that he's gay. This conference is not brought on by the imminent outing by the paparazzi, but comes at the point where he is between contracts and is not willing to hide his personal life anymore.

The movie not only makes the decision to come out seem trivial but almost makes it seem unnewsworthy. To the extent that the first press question is from Jamie Foxx asking if this meant that Dane was retiring - the predictable response "I'm Gay, and I'm Gonna Play".

Coming out is never easy. Every time you meet someone new you are, in effect coming out. Often it is a non-issue, sometimes not. Even today, at my temping job, I was at the receiving end of some barbed jokes about my sexuality. There was no malicious intent behind the comments and I do not suspect any homophobia from the gentleman involved but that is not to say the comments don't in some way belittle me and all lesbians and gay men.

For such a high profile sportsman, such as the character Dane was playing, coming out would likely lead to a horrendous amount of abuse and, given he wasn't signed to a team at that point, may also be the end of his playing career. By presenting this skewed version of coming out the film does no justice to the many players of all sports who are making that tough decision every year. The film even flinched from his happy ending, when his partner returns at the end of the movie thay are the only couple not to kiss.

I want a world where there is no discrimination based on sexuality, but we must accept that homphobia exists and perhaps the film would have been better served if there was greater realism in the way it dealt with this issue. I wanted to see how Dane made his decision to come out - in fact I actually want to see a film which honestly looks at how someone's life would change in these situations.

I don't know what it's like in America, but here in the UK in the Soccer Premier League (our most watched game) there isn't a single out gay player. In fact there has only ever been one in the history of top flight football. That player, Justin Fashanu, faced extreme abuse from other players, managers and fans - even his own brother publicly disowned him. Fashanu committed suicide in 1998.

Here in the UK the Football Association has begun a campaign to remove homophobia from the stands. Here is the viral advert they have made to publicise the campaign I warn you it sets out to be shocking.

The FA have chosen shock tactics to not only reflect the attitude that persists in the terraces but also because they have struggled to find top level player who would be willing to be the front of the campaign. I'll say that again - the perceived abuse from the fans would be so bad that no straight footballer is prepared to front a campaign against homophobia for fear of becoming a target.

I hope that this video is a start, I hope we can elimated homophobia from football, I hope Hollywood can reflect the burden gay players have more accutrately and I sincerely hope that one day an out gay man will be scoring the FA cup winning goal.

Brenda Fricker

Happy Birthday to

Brenda Fricker

65 today

So, yesterday was Pete Postlethwaite's birthday. He was nominated for a best Supporting Actor Academy Award for In the Name of the Father directed by Jim Sheridan, who directed Brenda to win best supporting actress for My Left Foot. I do like these little small connections between actors. Brenda also has nothing coming up that I'm interested in seeing.

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

Tuesday Trailers - Shutter Island

I've been waiting for this for a very long time, ever since it was originally mooted as Martin Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio's fourth collaboration. Since then I have read the book which reduced my anticipation a little, but I still suspect it will a superb experiment in style and suspense. Judge for yourself with the first trailer.

Shutter Island is released on 12 March 2010.

Pete Postlethwaite

Happy Birthday to

Pete Postlethwaite

64 today

Warrington born Pete trained at the Bristol Old Vic and has had a long and varied career in theatre and film. He has a couple of major productions out this year but nothing that I particularly want to see him in.

Sunday, 14 February 2010

Personal News (14/02/2010)

Quick update the filming on Tuesday and Wednesday was lots of fun. Cutting the corpses arm off was suitably gory and the relationship between my character and my wife seemed to work fine in front of the camera. Hopefully that will translate to the final product. I should get a set photo this week, and I'll be sure to post that.

I'll be going off on the Of Mice and Men tour this week, so all of a sudden the output will drop.

Not completely, of course, I have birthday posts written until I come back after the tour and Tuesday trailers for a few weeks, I've even prepped some of the Friday release posts. Generally though it will go quiet. I won't be able to respond to comments, or do a weekly news post or review films. I will try though, whenever I get the opportunity to slip into an internet cafe and keep you posted on any developments.

Meg Tilly

Happy Birthday to

Meg Tilly

50 today

Do you struggle to remember which of the Tilly sisters is which? Well you're lucky I'm here. Meg came to fame in The Big Chill and Agnes of God before her career slowly declined over a period of ten years followed by her retirement from acting and the commencement of her writing career. Got that? OK, come back on 16 September 2011 for the second part of this series.

Saturday, 13 February 2010

Film News (13/02/09)

You just can't move without finding exciting news stories this week, overall there have been 13 different press releases that have struck me as projects to look out for. That's pretty much a record for me and as a result this weeks post will be scattershot, focusless and messy. Hang on that's every Saturday news post only even worse. And on to it...

Contagion

I think we all know that I am a huge fan of Steven Soderbergh. Frankly I think he's a genius, with an enormous output and a clever way of balancing high-profile marquee productions with more intimate experimental work. This week it was announced he's working on Contagion, an international deadly virus thriller. It's not the sort of thing that has been tried on such a massive scale before (most virus plots focus on small communities such as Outbreak). It's definitely going to be one of his bigger pictures with Matt Damon, Jude Law and Kate Winslet all circling roles.

Here's a flu virus in action - Steven Soderbergh not pictured.

Read on for Penelope, Rachel and Cate casting news, 70's comedies, US Presidents, metaphoric violence, original musicals, Russian spys and social satires!

Dream House

Our first major casting story is the addition of Rachel Weisz to the it's-not-a-remake-but-sounds-exactly-the-same-as-Cold-Creek-Manor Dream House. She will be married to Daniel Craig, which in itself is quite a dreamy proposition.

Hanna

Also signing on to a new project is Cate Blanchett, who has taken an unnamed role in Joe Wright's child trained to kill flick. This shouldn't be a big surprise as there's a big hole in her schedule where Wright postponed his Lady Mountbatten/Nehru picture for Hanna in the first place.

Laverne and Shirley/New Years Eve

There seems to be some confusion about what's next on Garry Marshall's slate. New Line, sensing box office gold with this weekends Valentine's Day have already started the ball rolling on a sequel - that is using the same concept of a star studded selection of relationships all intersecting on New Years Day. Names in the hat for who'll be in that one.

In the meantime Garry's been joking(?) on the red carpets that's he's planning a big screen adaptation of "Laverne and Shirley" - the long running spin-off from "Happy Days". I'll confess I don't know the series so I can't say whether it's a good or bad thing.

Personally I'm planning on seeing Marshall's latest magnum opus this afternnon so I'll get back to you on whether I think he should be allowed behind a camera again.

Untitled LBJ Biopic

From the austin360.com website (I think it's just a local arts/tourism site) comes the news that Robert Benton is prepping for a biopic about 36th US President Lyndon B. Johnson. All we know from the story, which can be found here, is that filming will likely take place elsewhere in order to receive more favourable tax cuts. It seems that would be bad news for the Texan economy. HBO are producing so this may or may not get a theatrical release, but either way the story of LBJ is probably ripe for the telling.

Little War of Our Own

Beacon pictures have picked up Dan (The Hurricane, Murder in the First) Gordon's script about a small town drifting towards violence during the second world war, effectively mirroring the international political scene at the time. It will up to the Sheriff to keep the peace before it's too late. This could be a modern western, or just pure allegory, either way it may just work.

Melancholia/Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Penelope Cruz has hit the headlines for signing on to two widely diverse projects. The first is Lars von Trier's catastrodrama Melancholia, and the second will be seeing her square off to Johnny Depp in the next Pirates installment. Both projects, which I'll be honest I was probably going to see anyway, have just got a lot more interesting.

Robocop

The remake of the seminal 80's action thriller is not yet dead in the water. In spite of rumours that Darren Aronofsky was against shooting in 3D and that MGM were equally reticent about the R rating the director favours, writer David Self is convinced the project is still go. There are certainly practicalities about the production that need to be finalised as there would be when dealing with a "large corporation" but there's nothing major in the way. Other than Aronofsky's Black Swan, which is due to be released later this year, of course.

Song is You

Based on the novel about Arthur Philips, the story revoles around a middle aged commercial director, going through a bad patch in his life (I'm mentally casting Paul Giamatti) who feels a connection with a club singing ingenue. A tenous romance then plays out with him guiding her career and her becoming his inspiration to reinvigorate his life. Sounds dreadful - only the plan is to make a musical about it. I hope thet means original songs. There are so few musicals writeen directly for screen that I hope they're good when they do try.

The Terminal Spy

Do you remember when there were multiple Alexander Litveninko project hangiong around Hollywood, with Johnny Depp being very vocal about his wish to play the former KGB spy? Well finally one of these is beginning to get moving with news that the authoritive Alan S. Cowell's investigative best-seller is being developed. He's the former chief of the London Bureau of the New York Times so it'll be well researched and at the same time won't hesitate from pointing the finger where it needs to be pointed. Whther any adaptation will be able to fit in the complexities of the case, or whether Depp will be involved in this one remains to be seen.

Turn of the Century

Finally I'm turing to on of the most promising directors of the 1970's, but equally one who never really made good on that original promise: Peter Bogdanovich. It's been 9 years since his underrated Cat's Meow so we're certainly due this Kurt Anderson adaptation. The novel has been favourably compared to the yuppie classic "Bonfire of the Vanities", a social satire which should fit Bogdanovich's style. Let's hope it does - I want to see a re-emergence of the once feted auteur.

Stockard Channing

Happy Birthday to

Stockard Channing

66 today

There are worst things I could do, than celebrate Stockard's birthday with you...

That's about as far as I can go with that. She's a wonderful and talented actress, with an eclectic and fascinating body of work including 6 Tony nominations. Although few can argue her crowning cinematic glory was the complex Betty Rizzo in 1978's Grease. So here she is singing "There are worst things".

Friday, 12 February 2010

Out This Week (12/02/10)

It's an extremely busy week with 12 different titles competing for audiences, including 2 animations, 2 big budget action adventures, an all-star romantic hyperlink picture and this weeks film of the week: A Single Man

Anonyma: A Woman in Berlin

Hailed as a major turning point in World War 2 cinema, Anonyma looks at the occupation of Berlin following it's fall to the Russian Army, and the sacrifices and concessions a group of women had to make.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Battle for Terra

Looking suspiciously similar in plot to James Cameron's Avatar (humans conquering defenceless peace loving planet) this computer generated animation plays to a much younger audience and probably is less defensive about it's parallels to modern society. Cast includes supporting turns from Brian Cox and James Garner.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Beyond the Pole

Big screen adaptation of the cult British radio serial about the first organic, carbon-neutral expedition to the North Pole. The trailer looks hilarious, with some high class UK comic actors in the main roles. Worth going beyond the multiplex for.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

My Name is Khan

Bollywood superstar Sharukh Khan has been going all out to publicise his latest project, including interviews with Empire Magazine and on the massively popular Jonathan Ross show. Whether this will translate to a bigger audience will yet to be seen, but the trailer which highlights the personal journey a Muslim man makes to speak with the President following 9/11 looks like it has potential.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The lightning Thief

The first of 2 Greek themed adventure movies for 2010 (Clash of the Titans is coming in April) this one transplants the Greek legends to a 21st century setting with the teenage son of Poseidon rescuing the lightning bolt stolen from Sean Bean's Zeus. All very silly. Catherine Keener (Who should know better) and Uma Thurman take on supporting roles.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Ponyo

Ponyo on the cliff by the sea (to give it the full title) may not be getting the raves that director Hayao Miyazaki is used to but the animation is still divine and the story will entrance everyone who sees it. The English language cast includes a galaxy of big names such as Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and Cloris Leachman.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○

A Single Man

Finally bringing Colin Firth the awards attention he has deserved since his harrowing turn in the BBC film "Tumbledown" back in 1988. Firth excels as the gay university professor who has resolved to commit suicide but calmly lives his last day as normally as possible. Julianne Moore also has a plum role as his boozy neighbour.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●○○

Sukhmani

Finding anything about this Bollywood drama is really difficult. It was filmed in the Sabathu Army camp and concerns a family dealing with everyday issues against a backdrop of army life. The only trailers I've seen are song listing which doesn't sell it to me.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Takeshis'

It's taken nearly 5 years for Takeshi Kitano's surreal neo-noir to hit UK cinemas, which is odd as he's pretty much a known entity with a serious committed following. The film starts with a meeting between actor Beat Takeshi (himself) and his doppelganger (also Takeshi) and then slowly segues into masses of violence. Business as usual, then.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Valentine's Day

Big confession here. I know I have A Single Man as my film of the week, and I suspect Ponyo will be a much better second choice, but this is the film that I plan to see over the weekend. It's got an all star cast who all fall in love. What could be more wonderful than that?

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○

Winter in Wartime

The second World War 2 film of the week - it never ceases to produce new storylines - revolves around a small boy in the Netherlands finding out his family are involved in the resistance and assisting an injured British soldier. Similar to a reverse Whistle Down the Wind.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

The Wolfman

There was a point when there were very high hopes for this Universal monster remake, but with Joe Johnston in the director's chair we should have known better. Still it should be the number one box office hit of this weekend. Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro play the world's least likely father son pairing and Emily Blunt gets to wear period dresses again.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Burt Reynolds

Happy Birthday to

Burt Reynolds

74 today

As tempting as it is to celebrate the 18th of Taylor Lautner this morning, I've decided to stick with a man who's already proved that he's an enduring sex symbol. Burt rose to fame following his knockout performance in Deliverance, which he followed by 2 decades of poorly picked projects which he, as an performer, managed to rise above. Critically his best success came in the late 90's as Porn film direcor Jack Horner in Boogie Nights.

Talking about porn, one of his major turning points as a star was his centrefold in Cosmopolitan (1972). I wonder if Taylor would ever do that?

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Tuesday Trailers - Ondine

In spite of having a good pedigree (from the director of The Crying Game and starring Colin Farrell) Ondine didn't set the world on fire at it's Toronto premeier. Nevertheless the trailer below nicely sets up the tale of a fisherman who catches a mermaid and, providing it steers clear of whimsical naval-gaving, this could be worth the ticket price.

Ondine is released on 05 March 2010.

Joe Pesci

Happy Birthday to

Joe Pesci

67 today

The pint-sized Pesci (5 foot 4 inches) had a slow climb to the top, making his mark in low budget indies like The Death Collector before playing Robert De Niro's brother in Raging Bull, they have since worked together 5 more times. Pesci doesn't do much these days so I'm aching to see him return to cinemas in Love Ranch, as a brothel owner married to Helen Mirren.

Monday, 8 February 2010

Mary Steenburgen

Happy Birthday to

Mary Steenburgen

57 today

As a consummate character actress Mary has appeared in far more films that you think since her big break in Melvin and Howard. What I didn't know (until last night) is that Mary, and husband Ted Danson, are close personal friends of the Clinton's. You learn a new thing every day.

P.S. I'm still holding out that In The Electric Mist the film she made last year with Tommy Lee Jones and Peter Sarsgaard will get released but it went straight to DVD in the U.S. and it's coming close to a year since it premiered at the Berlinale 2009.

Sunday, 7 February 2010

Personal News (07/02/09)

It seems incredibly but I've not done a personal news story since way back in September. It's not that i haven't been trying to get work, it's just that I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere and I've not really had the opportunity to get involved.

We're now only two weeks away from resuming the Of Mice and Men tour, notices from the first half of the tour were positive so I'll be glad to get back into the regular work pattern. I would now link you to some reviews as published on the school websites, but I can't find one that mentions me by name (an actor almost simultaneously playing 3 roles is the closest I can find) so in a fit of pique you're not getting anything.

I've also managed to get a role in a short student film Dead Weight. It's not paid but it's a fun script, mainly revolving around physical comedy, so it should be a blast, and if it goes well may be a good addition to my library for when it comes to getting an agent. Filming is on Tuesday and Wednesday so I'll let you know next week how it's gone. As ever I hope to get a copy online.

Saturday, 6 February 2010

Film News (06/02/10)

You may or may not have heard but the biggest story of the week is the Oscar nominations. I don't want to retread my post on Wednesday, but I was thinking about the new voters, the latest inductees to the Academy and how they voted. What do you suppose Brendan Gleeson, Eddie Marsan, Jeffrey Wright, James Franco, Emily Blunt, Emile Hirsch, James McAvoy, Jane Lynch, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, Hugh Jackman or Seth Rogen had at the top of their voting form? Humourous answers on a postcard to...

Away from that there's hasn't been much in the news, only a couple of small stories to get your teeth into, as well as some potentially interesting international production news.

Zachary Quinto, stardom and the George Gershwin Biopic

First up is the frankly bizarre news from Zachary Quinto that he may be ready to move on from the reinvigorated Star Trek franchise. I'll confess I haven't seen the latest installment, but from what I hear whilst Quinto was best of the best parts in it what Star Trek mostly proved was that this was a character based franchise and not actor based - losing William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly didn't destroy the ratings, so there won't be much worry about the Heroes star moving on. However, I doubt it's a good idea for him. Does this look like he can't commit to long term projects? Or will it mean he retains more integrity than his Enterprise co-stars?

The project he appears to be moving on to is a Steven Spielberg helmed biopic of George Gershwin. Gershwin was a composer and musician, from Russian emigre heritage, who made a name for himself in the early Hollywood musicals of the 1930's and by sucessfully blending classical and jazz influences and appealing to both markets. His most famous works include "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess. Both of which has a prominant place in public conciousness. He also died tragically of a brain tumour, aged just 38. It's a baity role with a known director wso perhaps it's the right choice.

This is a famed caricature of George (right) with brother Ira Gershwin. Do you think Quinto could manage that look? And who would you cast as Ira?

Go past the link for the worst news you will read all week, and a pleasant surprise from Sweden.

The Lucky One

The cinematic rush to adapt the works of Nicholas Sparks continues unabated with the revelations that The Lucky One will be the next book to see the inside of cinemas. That in itself is not too bad, Sparks may be unashamedly romantic with The Notebook and A Walk to Remember being classic three hanky films and Dear John, which opened in the US yesterday appears to be getting solid reviews. The bad news is they've managed to find the worst possible person to direct it. Step forward Scott Hicks (The Boys are Back) who will no doubt attempt to wring every ouce of dramatic tension out of this story about a soldier who cheats death thanks to a photo of a beautiful girl he's never met.

Production News

And finally (I told you it was a quiet news week) I thought I'd start a new section on production news, which essentially will be tying up the fantastic rumours that we've covered with imdb's Production status. If a film moves into pre-production then I'll let you know. It's my way of keeping track of hat's coming - "Pre-production" being a much closer step to relaity that "annouced". Of course the film may never materialise. Until we see it opening weekend then there is no guarantee that the film will ever be released, but I like to think that this is a good sign.

Now most of the films which have entered the pre-production phase are pretty obvious big budget behemoths:

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: last got a mention in Runs-like-a-Gay back in August. Avctually they'd better get a move on with this, as it's due to come out in May 2011 and I can't imagine it'll be a simple post-production process...

The Next Batman sequel is also rumbling on, but with no villian casting news I guess it's still a long way away. This was last discussed in July.

As was Yellow Submarine, the Robert Zemeckis motion capture remake of The Beatles' oddball animation.

Bond 23, Hanna, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Your Cheating Heart have all been in the news during January. (The last is the Ron Howard/Vince Vaughn collaboration.)

On the other hand I found out about Swedish picture Domen över död man purely by accident. I know nothing about it whatsoever - not even a plot description (although Domen means judgement and Dod means dead so taht may be an indication), however it's being directed by Jan Troell, the man behind Maria Larsson's Everlasting Moments (pictured below) and as that was one of my favourite films from 2009 I'm fairly confident in his next project.

Friday, 5 February 2010

Out this week (05/02/10)

Just three days after the Oscar nominations it's no surprise that this weeks top film managed to pick up some attention, even if it missed out on the big prize. More complex is the battle for audiences with 2 animated features both opening this week - I suspect Disney to take the box office crown. We also have a bit of a cathch up session as 4 films were quietly released last week without me spotting them - so if you're interested in Turkish cinema then skip to the end. Nevertheless ehe film of the week is still Invictus.

Asal

Effectively looking Bollywood actioner with Ajith Kumar as a one man army fighting to get to Sameera Reddy. Some nice stuntwork in the trailer but it may be one for the fans.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Astro Boy

Middling animated fabtasy about aelectronic boy with exception firepower created in the image of a scientist's lost son. A tiny bit like Pinnochio then. Personally I'm not sure why you'd give a replacement for your son laser vision and rocket launchers, but there you go. Starry voice cast (including Nic Cage, Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson) is all it has to recommend it.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Holy Water

Irish comedy about a skiffle band who steal a bus load of viagra's. Much hilarity then ensues - not that you'd guess from the trailer which has it's fair share of silly car chases and jokes about middle aged couples refinding their sex drive.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Invictus

It may have missed out on a best picture nomination this week, to Sandra Bullock vehicle The Blind Side, but Clint Eastwood's recreation of the infamous Sprinbok Rugby World Cup win and it's South African political ramifications still look like a worthy film to view.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●○○○

The Island

Set within a remote monastic community Pavel Lounguine's sophomore picture shines a light on a dying religion (in this case the Russian Othodox Church) and how this can be shaken as one priest offers a faith-healing. It comes with fine pedigree 6 wins at the 2007 Nika Awards.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Malice in Wonderland

It's our first Danny Dyer movie of 2010 - there will be a few, don't worry. In this twisted version of Lewis Carroll's famous story he plays a Whitey, a taxi driver obsessed with being late. There are some nice touches - Tweedledum and Tweedledee are doormen and Wonderland is a big nightclub, but I'm personally waiting for Burton's take on it.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

The Princess and The Frog

Disney return to hand-drawn animation with this 20th century fairytale, set during the Jazz age in Louisiana. It's not as starry as this week Astro Boy - Anika Noni-Rose is the lead with Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey the only other names I really recognise - but the songs are great and the trailer mixes a family comic feel with suitably scary villians.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○

Psych 9

Cliche filled thriller about a girl who (trailer voice) must confront her past to prevent a murder... Set in an abandoned insane Asylum with Cary Elwes as her shrink (so clearly he's also the killer). Avoid.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Tony

Tony (Frank Boyce) is a lonely mild mannered guy you could easier miss as you walk past him in central London. Unemployed, and largely unemployable he spends his days wanering through the markets and chatting to hookers. Until he flips and becomes a serial killer. Darkly comic this British film may be worth making the effort.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Youth in Revolt

It's box office performance in the States may have been abysmal but I really enjoyed the trailer for this Michael Cera vehicle. He stars as a late teen inventing a new persona in order to sleep with the girl of his dreams. Unfortunatly his imaginery doppelganger is both more irresistible and irresponsible than he is.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

And missed off from last week (29 January 2010):

A Bit of Tom Jones

Star-free Welsh comedy which seems to be developing as a cult hit according to imdb.com. The plot, such as it is, revolves around Tom Jones' stolen member and the apparent market for celebrity willies. So bizarre it might be worth a look.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○

Edjer Kapani

Turkish suspense thriller about a serial killer targeting peadophiles and the police who must stop him. The trailer looks more like a extended episode of CSI: Ankara but with an interesting plot and a couple of car chases.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Kutsal Damacana 2

Did anyone see Kutsal Damacana 1? I didn't think so... It's a comedy along the lines of a parody of Buffy the Vampire slayer with a highly trained group of priests (and nuns) fighting demons.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○

Yahsi Bati

And our final Turkish film - was there a festival or something?- is a comic western examining the culture clashes betwen to Turkish embassy officials towards the end of the last century and the wild west communities they encounter as they cross the states.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○

Oh, and to celebrate another Danny Dyer release here's my traditional semi naked picture of him:

Barbara Hershey

Happy Birthday to

Barbara Hershey

62 today

Barbara Hershey is a seriously talented actress, with a fascinating back catalgue, however somehow she isn't half as popular as she should be. Coming to audience attentions in the late 60's and early 70's, as much for her offscreen lifestyle as her acting technique, she came into her own in the 80's with high profile ventures such as The Right Stuff, The Natural and Beaches. She was also the first person to win 2 consecutive best actress awards at Cannes for Shy People and A World Apart. Next up is Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan which hopefully be a return to the public consciousness.

Wednesday, 3 February 2010

Film News - 2009 Oscar Nominations

Yesterday lunchtime the nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards were announced. Some during a live presentation from Academy president Tom Sherak (nervy) and Anne Hathaway (giving one of her worst performances, but I liked the suit) and others as a press release afterwards.

I get a little grumpy about the artificial distincting between the big prizes and the techies. A wonderfully written script, with a career best acting performances and steady direction would be utterly rubbish (and probably completely ignored) if it was lit badly or the editing didn't help focus the attention. However I can see why the announcement is kept short and highlights the categories which bring in the punters.

There are plenty of websites that will offer indepth analysis of the nominations, many of which I am an ardent fan of. Awardsdaily provides a good starting block with witty and intelligent writing, Kris Tapley of In Contention also wasted no time in getting together with Anne Thompson and recording their reaction. Many of the blogs on the right will also have some interesting comments so please take a look.

For myself I have little to say, the biggest surprise today was that there were so few surprises. Anyone who regularly follows the progress of the precursers and the awards buzz will have have the final nominees as either predictions or as highly credible alternatives. Even the choices which were a little out of the blue like The Blind Side for best picture, The Secret of Kells for Animated picture and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the supporting actress category had a certain logic to them. I have yet to see any of these films so I have no positive or negative comments regarding their inclusion.

As ever I'm slightly saddened that my own choices weren't reflected - I'm still firmly behind Where the Wild Things Are even if the Academy completely forgot about it - at the same time I understand that one of the beauties about film is that you and I will always differ about what we think is better.

All our experiences of the film landscape in 2009 was different and therefore our own responses will be different. We can, and will, passionately put forward our own picks regardless of critical recognition, peer awards or box office success. In five years time when the dust has cleared and a thousand new stories have been told we will undoutably have forgotten about the intensity of the battle between James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow and instead each of us will be left with only moments of film that stick in our memories. I will be left with Maria Larsson taking her self portrait and Max starting a dirt fight - others will have IEDs and Home trees - none of us are wrong.

Saying that recognition from your industry colleagues is a wonderful thing, and the Oscars can have a huge beneficial effect of the carrers of the nominees. So it is with great pleasure and due humility that I offer my hearty congratulations everyone nominated today and, in the spirit of my second paragraph, to the entire film-making teams, from the Executives who bankrolled the budget to the caterers who kept the tea flowing, in all of these films:

Ajami
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco Before Chanel
Coraline
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9
An Education
El Secreto de Sus Ojus
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Food, Inc
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
In the Loop
Inglorious Basterds
Invictus
Julie and Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellseberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
A Serous Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Un Prophete
Up
Up in the Air
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon
The Young Victoria

And the Shorts

China's Unnatural Disaster: The tears of Sichuan Province
The Door
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
The Lady and the Reaper
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Miracle Fish
Music by Prudence
The New Tenants
Rabbit a la Berlin

Tuesday, 2 February 2010

Tuesday Trailers - Alice in Wonderland

Sometimes watching a trailer can really turn you off a film, it may have a nice cast, interesting concept and a strong word of mouth but a flat trailer will make you think twice. On the other hands some trailers gleeful play with your expectations. One of the later is Tom Burton's Alice in Wonderland which hits all the right notes for a mix of excitement and fun. It's also the first of my 20 for 2010 that i will see so I'm really hoping the trailer is an indication of the whole...

Alice in Wonderland opens on 05 March 2010.

Monday, 1 February 2010

Stuart Whitman

Happy Birthday to

Stuart Whitman

82 today

It is fair to say that whilst Whitman was a fine actor his talents off screen are far more interesting. For intance during his time with the Army he was Light-heavyweight boxer with 32 wins to his name and following his retirement from acting he's amassed a substantial fortune from wise investing. That's some range.

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